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Contributors are all Dartmouth Review staff, editors, or alumni. Any TDR alumnus/ae wishing to become a contributor should email us at dartlog@dartreview.com. Students wishing the same should join The Dartmouth Review staff by contacting the editor at editor@dartreview.com.

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Sunday, February 29, 2004

The Board of The Dartmouth Review met yesterday afternoon at the Hanover Inn and selected Joseph Rago '05 as the new Editor in Chief and Charles Kluender '04 as President. Both are sure to continue the Review's legacy as the paper enters its 25th year.

If I have time later this evening, I'll post a few pictures from our changeover dinner last night at the Alden Country Inn.

Saturday, February 28, 2004

Women: #3 Dartmouth 3, Brown 2
What it means:
Dartmouth wins the Ivy Title for the 3rd time in four years.
Dartmouth moves into sole posession of 3rd place in the ECAC, and with Colgate and Cornell left on the schedule shouldn't be in danger of falling below that.
Dartmouth's Frozen Four chances are still very much alive.

Men: Dartmouth 0, Harvard 4
What it means:
Dartmouth finishes 4th in the ECAC. Good enough for a bye, but disappointing because they could've finished 2nd with a win or 3rd with a tie.
For the 2nd time in 3 years, Dartmouth fails to win the Ivy Title after needing only a tie in their final Ivy League game to clinch at least a share or a win to claim it outright. 2 years ago they lost to Yale at home, this year they get whitewashed by Harvard in Cambridge.
Odds are it'll be Dartmouth-RPI in the ECAC quarterfinals. RPI, as the 5th seed, will host 12-seeded Princeton next weekend. The odds of Princeton pulling off the upset are slim to none.
Dartmouth continues to struggle against Harvard, having gone 0-6-2 against them in their last 8 meetings. The last Dartmouth win was a 7-0 blowout in Hanover in the winter of 2001.
What happened:
Dartmouth outshot Harvard 33-19 after 2 periods of play, but trailed 4-0 anyway. The Harvard goalie stood on his head all night, and Dan Yacey '05 was pulled just a night after getting his first career shutout.

Friday, February 27, 2004

Men: Dartmouth 3, Brown 0
What it means:
Dartmouth has clinched a 1st round bye in the conference tournament. Their last home games will be the weekend of finals (March 12-14) in the ECAC quarterfinals.
Dartmouth can win its first Ivy Title since 1980 outright with a win at Harvard tomorrow, and can split it with Brown and Cornell with a tie.
With a win and a Colgate loss tomorrow night, Dartmouth can win its first ECAC Title in school history.
Brown has gone 0-4-1 in their last 5 games, falling from 1st to 4th in the process.
What happened: Dartmouth got a goal by Nathan Szymanski '05 midway through the first period on a delayed penalty call, and Dan Yacey '05 picked the best possible time to get his first career shutout. ENG's by Captain Brian Van Abel '04 and Mike Ouellette '06 sealed the win for Dartmouth, who was outshot 14-5 in the 3rd period.
On tap: Dartmouth plays Harvard in the final regular season game tomorrow in Cambridge. Dartmouth is currently on a 7-game winless streak against the Crimson, having gone 0-5-2 against them since defeating them 7-0 in Hanover during the 00-01 season.

Women: #3 Dartmouth 3, #1 Harvard 2
What it means:
Dartmouth keeps its Frozen Four bid alive
Dartmouth clinches at least a share of the Ivy Title (I think)
What happened:
A Harvard bitch committed the worst act I've seen in hockey since Marty McSorley went upside the head of another player with his stick. She kicked a fallen Dartmouth player not once but twice, the 2nd time connecting with the head. She got a Game DQ, and will have to sit out tomorrow's game at Vermont automatically, and hopefully will get suspended longer than that.
The game winning goal by Gillian Apps came with 1:10 left on the clock.
The official attendance was 1555, but for once seemed to be underestimated and not overestimated. The student sections were pretty full.

I should have known (as others predicted early on) that would bring
down some official wrath from the Bush administration by calling him
guilty of treason every night! I underestimated the opposition, to out
it mildly They have sent a powerful message now, I'd say, but I will not
quit.

BEFORE I was arrested on trumped up "stalking" charges (against the
ex-"agent" who was supposed to make me rich last October from my
infamous "Bush-Nazi files"), I was taken off a plane arriving at
Baltimore-Washington airport on Wednesday, February 4, when I was on way
to speak (invited) at National Press Club. I was aggressively
interrogated for two hours as if I might be planning to "harm" Bush, I
was arrested six days later, after I got home to Miami. My arraignment
is next Tuesday, and since I have no money for a lawyer, I will have to
go with the Public Defender, which should be OK since the charges are
false. We'll see. I've thought about you since election night, and just
wanted to tell you how much the "Dartmouth Review response" meant to
me...I am pressing on now and will announce a third party March 20 with
John McConnell, the founder of Earth Day. Please feel free to call me at
XXXXXXXXX, so we can catch up. I'd love to see you again, and maybe
come speak at Dartmputh when the time is righjt. Thanks very much, Alex.
Take care, and keep the faith. And MOST important, KEEP DANCING!!!

Check out the Valley News today. The online version only has the following excerpt:

Fight Over Dartmouth Plan Begins
Hanover -- Dartmouth College is moving ahead with plans to build two new residence halls for students as part of its planned North Campus, one of the most controversial items of its current expansion.

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Readers are doubtless familiar with Google.com's practice of altering its logo graphic with this or that holiday decoration at appropriate times of year. I opened the Dartmouth.edu home page today to find its header graphic vandalized in similar fashion: the "O" in Dartmouth is wearing a Cat-in-the-Hat hat. Seriously.

Now, I have no problem with Dartmouth's celebration of its most famous alum. I enjoy Seuss as much as the next guy. But this graphic doesn't belong on a site that will be visited by young high school prospectives. Why? Because everybody know that the Cat-in-the-Hat hat is shorthand for listening to Jamiroquai and smoking Kokomo.

This is James Carroll's column from Tuesday (2/24) Boston Globe. Carroll is a former Catholic priest. He is particularly well qualified as both a theologian and historian to comment on this movie.

----------------------------------------------------------------
JAMES CARROLL
An obscene portrayal of Christ's Passion
By James Carroll, 2/24/2004

"THE PASSION of The Christ" by Mel Gibson is an obscene movie. It will incite contempt for Jews. It is a blasphemous insult to the memory of Jesus Christ. It is an icon of religious violence. Like many others, I anticipated the Gibson film warily, especially because an uncritical rendition of problematic Gospel texts which unfairly blame "the Jews" for the death of Jesus threatened to resuscitate the old "Christ-killer" myth.

But seeing Gibson's film convinces me that it does far worse than that. His highly literal representation of the Passion narratives, his visual presentation of material that, in the tradition, is meant to be read and heard, together with his prejudiced selection of details and his invention of dialogue and incidents, cause one serious problem, very much at the expense of Jews.

But the impact of his perverse imagination on a sacred story, coming at a time when the world is newly riven with primal violence in the name of God, threatens an even more grievous problem. The subject of this film, despite its title, is not the Passion of the Christ, but the sick love of physical abuse, engaged in for power.

Jews as presented in this movie are overwhelmingly negative. Roman soldiers brutally execute Jesus, but Pontius Pilate is a good man, who stands in dramatic contrast to Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest. Going well beyond anything in the Gospels, Gibson's film emphasizes Roman virtue and Jewish venality by inventions like these:

Pilate's wife Claudia is an actual heroine, who aligns herself with Mary. Mary, terrified for her son, appeals to benign Romans against the hostile Jewish crowd.

Claudia is the woman behind the Romans. Her dramatic counterpart, the woman behind the Jews, is none other than a female Satan.

Pilate kindly offers Jesus a cup of water. Pilate orders Jesus flogged, but only to satisfy the Jewish bloodthirst.

The Jews are expressly indicted by the Good Thief, who, after the crucified Jesus says, "Father, forgive them . . . ," tells Caiaphas that "He prays for you." Jews are indicted by Jesus, who consoles Pilate by telling him, "It is he who has delivered me to you who has the greater sin."

The centerpiece of the film is a long sequence constructed around the flogging of Jesus. It is the most brutal film episode I have ever seen, approaching the pornographic. Just when the viewer thinks the flaying of the skin of Jesus can get no crueler, it does. Blood, flesh, bone, teeth, eyes, eye sockets, ribs, limbs -- the man is skinned alive, taken apart. In these endless moments, with the torturers escalating instruments and vehemence both, the film puts Gibson's decadent "Braveheart" imagination on full display.

On screen and in the theater, there is nothing to do but look away. Long after the filmgoer has had enough, even the Romans stop. And here is the anti-Semitic use to which this grotesque scene is put: Then Jesus is returned to the crowd of "the Jews," and then, as if they are indifferent to what the filmgoer has just been physically revolted by, "the Jews" demand the crucifixion of Jesus.

Not even the most savage carnage a filmgoer has ever seen is enough for these monsters. The scene, with the Jewish crowd overriding tender-hearted Pilate, is the most lethal in the Scriptures, but in Gibson's twist, "The Jews" are made to seem more evil than ever.

There is no resurrection in this film. A stone is rolled back, a zombie-Jesus is seen in profile for a second or two, and that's it. But there is a reason for this. In Gibson's theology, the resurrection has been rendered unnecessary by the infinite capacity of Jesus to withstand pain. Not the Risen Jesus, but the Survivor Jesus. Gibson's violence fantasies, as ingenious as perverse, are, at bottom, a fantasy of infinite male toughness.

The inflicting of suffering is the action of the film, and the dramatic question is: How much pain can Jesus take? The religious miracle of this Passion is that he can take it all. Jesus Christ Superstoic. His wondrous capacity to suffer is what converts bystander soldiers, and it is what saves the world.

In an act of perverse editing, Gibson has Jesus say, "I make all things new" as his torment approaches climax, as if cruel mayhem brings renewal. When Jesus cries out near the end, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" the film conveys not his despair, but his numb gratification. There's the film's inadvertent reversal, the crucifixion as a triumph of sadomasochistic exploitation. That triumph seems to be what Gibson's Jesus salutes when he says finally, "It is accomplished."

It is a lie. It is sick. Jews have every reason to be offended by "The Passion of The Christ." Even more so, if possible, do Christians.

This dandy little event comes from the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, basically an office which assures that we have 'enough' minorities on campus. As intrguing as the office's mission may be, the two-day Hip-Hop Identities and Poetic Race Relations conference is surely not one to be missed. Come one, come all and learn the Four (5?) Elements of Hip Hop and Beatboxing, and engage in an Activism Workshop with a "Polynesian Tribal Chief and Hip Hop Afficiando (description pending)." Things like this would be even funnier if I knew I weren't paying for it on some level.

Sunday, February 22, 2004

AP style dictates that you use "girls' " and "boys' " when referring to high school teams, and "men's" and "women's" when referring to college teams. That Buzzflood didn't recognize that simple fact shows their lack of even moderate sports knowledge.

Also, our women's basketball team is (14-8, 7-2 Ivy), not 10-12, 4-6, which is Columbia's record.

This is a fascinating post by Buzz Flood, but there are a couple of flaws with it. First of all, the Dartmouth women's basketball team (10-12, 4-6 League) is not undefeated. Second, the head coach is Chris Wielgus, not Jeff Hoyle. Thirdly, they did not (to my knowledge) just capture the Eastern Athletic Conference title. &c.

It would appear as though Buzz Flood is now expanding to celebrate the strengths of the Dartmouth (Mass) High School. Go Indians!

UPDATE: My sincere apologies to our women's basketball team. I freely admit to functional illiteracy. Additionally, it appears as though Blabber Force has changed the permalink, rendering it useless.

Saturday, February 21, 2004

Dartmouth squandered a 3-0 lead, allowing Yale to tie it up early in the 3rd, but would get two goals from Hugh Jessiman and another from Chris Snizek on a perfectly executed 3-on-2 rush, and won going away 6-3.

Yale had one final chance as Dartmouth had two men in the penalty box for 1:40, but even with their goalie pulled and a 6-on-3 advantage, they couldn't even get one shot on net, and almost gave up the shorthanded, ENG on a couple occasions.

Dartmouth improves to 11-7-9 on the season, and is tied with Cornell for 3rd in the ECAC with 25 points (9-4-7). With a win or two ties next weekend, or an RPI loss, Dartmouth will clinch a first round bye in the conference playoffs.

Our very own Rollo is soon to be Cadet George Rollo Begley, first class. He signed his marching papers with the United States Army Officer Candidate School and will begin training June 29, 2004.
That Rollo kept this a secret from Steven Dreck and me, his roommates, is most amazing considering the quantity of truth serum we've injected into him since he began applying in November. With his clandestine operations to the recruiter's office and ability to remain silent during drunken interrogation, I have no doubts he'll easily gain "Top Secret" clearance in Army intelligence.

Dartmouth pulled out a 2-2 tie with Princeton tonight in front of a near sellout crowd of 4493 (sellout is 4500).

Dartmouth trailed 2-1 for most of the third, but managed to tie the game on a Hugh Jessiman PPG with 2:04 left. Then idiocy reigned supreme, as someone from one of the student sections threw a cup of coke on the ice, costing Dartmouth a delay of game penalty, their second of the night. It was one thing to throw tennis balls after the first goal of the game in the first period (of which there were ~50, along with 2 paper airplanes and 1 fish), that was expected and the penalty could be dealt with.

But if I was the hockey team tonight, I'd be fucking pissed (pardon my french). They just tied it up late in the third period, had all the momentum, and then some idiot fan costs them a penalty. Fortunately they killed it off, but the damage was done. Dartmouth had several chances in OT, but the Princeton netminder played out of his mind, making several incredible saves. Dartmouth outshot Princeton 6-0 in OT, but couldn't get the game winner.

With the tie, Dartmouth is tied for the 4th and final first round bye with RPI at 23 points. There are three games left in the regular season. Tomorrow night is Senior Night at Thompson, as the final home game of the year starts at 7 PM against Yale.

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Open Letter from the hockey team asks people not to bring tennis balls to the Princeton game this Friday. The ECAC is cracking down on objects being thrown onto the ice, and unlike past years, there will be no warning after the first offense.

Now why they are choosing to crack down now as opposed to the start of the season remains suspicious. Cornell threw their fish at Harvard without a penalty, and people threw tennis balls at Princeton in the women's game earlier this season, also without a penalty. It's no secret that Coach Gaudet has never been a fan of the tennis ball toss, so it could be him using the ECAC mandate as an excuse to stop it, which is too bad in my opinion.

I admit it's a really dumb tradition, but so what, college sports are about stupid things like this. It's what seperates them from professional sports. The least the college could do to compensate is to reopen the 20-30 seats in the student section behind the visitor's penalty box. Though that'll probably happen when pigs fly, I still have never heard a good explanation for why that happened, other than we were being "too rowdy" (yeah right - go to a game at Lynah Rink in Ithaca, then come back and tell me Dartmouth fans are too rowdy).

This was mentioned in The Daily D back in January. And remarkably, BuzzFlood also managed to pick this one up. Still, I must question the value that BlabberForce adds here, since it merely directs readers to the NY Times article about the same, as it does with most news-worthy items from the College.

Apparently, Michael Arad -- who was recently chosen to design the September 11, 2001 memorial at the grounds of the World Trade Center -- is a Dartmouth grad. Class of 1991. I read this in one of the magazines the College sends.

Monday, February 16, 2004

An Open Invitation to Winter Carnival
Killington Secedes from Vermont
The Rise and Fall of Psi U's Keg Jump
The Mardi Gras of the North: A History
Frats Locked Down
Slanguage
The Making of an Artful Warrior
The Week in Review
Barrett's Mixology: The Manhattan

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Our Winter Carnival issue will be out later this evening, and I imagine we'll be a few days in updating the website. But I thought I'd go ahead and post my editorial, An Open Invitation, to get people in the Carnival mood--and to remind those off campus what you're missing.

I have included below my biannual letter to the Dartmouth community. I hope that you enjoy it.

*****

Dear Friends,

The New Hampshire primary has come and gone. We have not seen any political
candidates or their entourages for a few weeks. I told some undergraduates recently that
as Dartmouth students they have a remarkable opportunity: once during their four years
here they can count on a national political contest on their doorstep. We had students
working on just about every campaign, and we were pleased to host a candidate forum on
women's issues, co-sponsored by the Lifetime Network and ABC-TV. In addition to the
Democratic candidates, Secretary of Education Rod Paige was here and spoke at the re-
dedication of Raven House as the home of our nationally recognized Department of
Education.

We have also enjoyed the Montgomery Lecture program on truth and ethics in
journalism, which celebrates the endowment's 25th anniversary. Over the last few months
Montgomery Fellows have included David Shipler '64, Roger Wilkins, Tom Rosenstiel,
Christopher Wren '57, Anne Garrels, David Brooks, and most recently, Lewis Lapham.
The gift of the late Kenneth F. Montgomery '25 and Harle Montgomery continues to
enliven the intellectual life of the campus.

This year also marks the 100th anniversary of Theodor Seuss Geisel's birth. As a member
of the Class of 1925, Ted Geisel, later to become known as Dr. Seuss, began his career as
a cartoonist and writer for the Jack O'Lantern. His many works continue to charm and
educate millions of children around the world. Students remember him this month
through a "Seussentennial Winter Carnival," which includes a delightful snow sculpture
of "the cat in the hat," a Seuss-inspired poster designed by presidential intern Brad Bate
'04, and a library exhibit of Mr. Geisel's works. The College will mark the official
anniversary on March 2nd with a birthday party in Collis Common Ground. In addition,
as part of a Tucker Foundation program Dartmouth undergraduates are visiting local
schools to distribute and read from Dr. Seuss books. And of course Thayer Hall will
serve green eggs and ham!

In December, Susan and I joined many friends at two events in New York honoring two
of Dartmouth's own. We feted former Dartmouth President James O. Freedman who was
recognized by The American Jewish Committee with its National Distinguished
Leadership Award. And we joined hundreds at the Waldorf-Astoria to cheer Murry
Bowden '71 when he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The
Dartmouth contingents were the largest group each night - and appropriately so.

* * * * *

Last summer, I completed my fifth year as president of Dartmouth, and I issued a report
to mark the occasion (posted at: www.dartmouth.edu/~fiveyearreport). It was both a
humbling and inspiring task - Dartmouth has such talented students and an extraordinary
faculty who are committed to teaching and learning in this environment. I told the
Alumni Council last spring that Dartmouth provides its students with the best educational
experience in the country (You can access the address at:
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2003/may/051603.html). The protection and
enhancement of the Dartmouth experience has been our central goal over the past five
years and will remain my mission going forward. But this only affirms a deeply historic
commitment - one that I have understood since my first days here.

The school I came to in 1969 was a strong and energetic place, and I immediately fell
under the Dartmouth spell. What I admired then is what I have come to recognize and
embrace as anchoring values and purposes. Dartmouth was a place where students had an
opportunity to learn and to grow, a place marked by a culture that encouraged and
enabled, one that fostered independence and nurtured cooperation. As a faculty member,
I was able to do the things that I loved - reading and learning and writing about history at
a place that valued teaching, scholarship, and the relationship between faculty and
students.

I learned much from the presidents under whom I served - President John Sloan Dickey's
emphasis on internationalism and service, as well as on faculty scholarship; President
John Kemeny's efforts to expand Dartmouth so that it truly was available to women and
minority students; President David McLaughlin's work to strengthen Dartmouth
financially, to address out-of-classroom needs, and to facilitate the move of the medical
center; and President James O. Freedman's eloquent and successful focus on the
intellectual strength and purposes of Dartmouth.

My goals build upon the work of my predecessors and the values that have made
Dartmouth great: assuring a strong faculty that is committed to teaching and learning;
making certain that we have a true residential community, one that is inclusive and that
encourages student leadership and independence, service and responsibility; nurturing
and enabling our strong professional schools; looking always for ways to encourage
intellectual and scholarly collaboration; making certain that Dartmouth is accessible and
available to the students who will lead in the 21st century. Doing these things may be
more complicated in the world in which we live today. They are also more essential.

The Dartmouth of 1969 was a different place in some obvious and measurable ways.
There were 3,200 students, all men of course - probably no more than 5 or 6 percent were
students of color and there were very few international students. We operated on a
conventional September to June calendar and our off-campus programs were essentially
language programs in Western Europe. The professional schools - known as the
associated schools - were small. The Medical School had a two-year program, most of the
Tuck students were Dartmouth undergraduates on a 3/2 program, and Thayer had only
limited graduate programs.

In contrast to 1969, Dartmouth now has 4,300 undergraduates, half of whom are women,
30 percent of whom are students of color, and 6 percent of whom are international
students. We operate around the year and around the world. Our professional schools
have an international reputation, and we are affiliated with the major medical center of
northern New England. Our annual operating budget is a half-billion dollars. Dartmouth
is a complex organization - but our course must remain clear. We need to focus on what
we do best!

* * * * *

While the Five-Year Report provided an opportunity to reflect on the past, it also gave
me the chance to outline our priorities moving forward. In 2002, we released a strategic
plan that described goals and priorities for every part of the institution. Our goals work
toward strengthening and protecting the core functions of the College. For the immediate
future our top priorities are to support the faculty and to continue the expansion of the
faculty of Arts and Sciences, to protect financial aid and need-blind admissions, to
address program and space needs in each of the professional schools, and to move
forward with long-delayed construction projects.

Last year in my address to the General Faculty, I suggested that it may well be time for
the faculty to take a look at the curriculum, particularly at those courses aimed at non-
majors. This is no easy task. Woodrow Wilson, when he served as president of Princeton,
once said that changing the curriculum is about as difficult as trying to move a graveyard.
I have chaired two curriculum review committees myself at Dartmouth over the last 35
years. I understand first-hand the pitfalls of this task. The last full curriculum review took
place in the early 1990s, and since then the faculty have continued to assess the new
requirements. We have had some good discussions about the curriculum's goals. We need
to be ever vigilant about ensuring that the education we provide meets both the needs of
our students and those of wider society.

An upcoming conference, organized by the Dean of Faculty and the Fannie and Alan
Leslie Center for the Humanities and scheduled for fall 2004, will examine the role of the
humanities and the liberal arts in the 21st century. While there is little doubt that the
Humanities will remain central to what we do, such reflection is critical to the continuing
vitality of our educational program. Both Susan Dentzer, Chair of our Board of Trustees,
and I addressed the place of the humanities at this year's Convocation. (You can access
both of our addresses at: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2003/09/23b.html.)

* * * * *

Internationally recognized architect Buzz Yudell has developed the plans for the north of
campus - the North of Maynard residence halls, the dining center, and the Kemeny
Mathematics building and the Academic Centers building that will provide a home for
the Dickey Endowment, the Leslie Center for the Humanities, and the Ethics Institute.
We hired a single architect to design these buildings so that they could establish an
identity and blend into and respect the aesthetic of the existing campus. I want "keeper"
buildings constructed on my watch - places that can relate to the rest of the campus and
affirm the physical strength and beauty that mark Dartmouth.

In addition, we have begun plans to construct a dormitory on Tuck Mall. In May, we
expect to break ground for the Engineering Sciences Center at the Thayer School, which
will provide much-needed additional space for the faculty and students. An expansion of
the Sudikoff Laboratory for Computer Science is underway as is a renovation of Alumni
Gym.

Longer-term construction projects include a major expansion of our arts facilities and the
renovation of the Hopkins Center. The venerable "Hop" is now over 40 years old and no
longer meets the needs of a student body larger than that of 1962. We are also working on
a Life Sciences Initiative. Our current facilities for the life sciences at the Medical School
and within the Arts and Sciences are stretched to the limit. Provost Barry Scherr is
working on a phased plan for the life sciences that will allow us to meet these needs.

* * * * *

Fortunately, our budget situation is much improved compared to the last two years. We
have managed to reduce expenses and have worked hard to reallocate resources toward
the high priority areas of academic programs and the faculty. For the five years that
ended in 2002, Dartmouth saw the second largest increase in library budgets among our
peers, and we continue to protect the library budget. We must continually watch our
expenses and look for ways to make the administration as efficient as possible, while
protecting the core educational activities. Unlike some of our peer institutions, we
avoided freezing faculty or staff salaries last year, and we will not need to do so this year
either. We have reduced the number of staff positions, through attrition and some
reorganization, and we will continue to monitor the replacement and creation of new
positions as part of a general management program.

The priorities outlined in the Five-Year Report - faculty, financial aid, and facilities - are
central components in the upcoming capital campaign. Vice President for Development
Carrie Pelzel has begun to organize for this campaign, the official kickoff of which will
be in the fall of this year. At that time, the Board of Trustees will also announce a
campaign target. The Board has been energetic - and generous - in building a strong base
for this critical effort. The campaign will ensure the education that we provide serves our
students well.

We are extraordinarily fortunate in our alumni who have invested so heavily in
generations of students. The endowment represents their accumulated faith and hopes in
the power of education and specifically in the idea of Dartmouth. This past year, several
reunion classes broke records, including the Classes of 1953, 1968, and 1978 - indeed,
the '78s not only broke Dartmouth records, but also those of some of our peer
institutions! Thank you! And thanks also to the thousands of participants in the Annual
Fund and especially to those of you who support financial aid and scholarships. I told the
Class of 2007 at their first class meeting that they are not here as consumers - none of
them in fact paid the full cost of their education. Rather they are beneficiaries of a legacy
passed on to them by over two centuries of Dartmouth graduates. I urged them to thank
alumni and alumnae whenever they meet them. On their behalf, I do so here.

* * * * *

Before I close, I would like to let you know that one of our students, Christina Porter '06,
has had a tragic skiing accident and is currently in intensive care at the Dartmouth-
Hitchcock Medical Center. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.

We are in the midst of one of the coldest winters in my 35 years in Hanover. Benjamin
Hale from the Class of 1818 and Professor of Chemistry complained in February of 1830
that the average morning temperature in the last two weeks in January was around -15 F.
Too many days this year, the temperatures have rivaled those of 1830. But these days
define the Dartmouth experience no less than summer afternoons on the river or the fall
colors that light the hills and granite ledges. We endure and excel despite the best
challenges of the North Country. And for those who wait for spring, I share my own
annual marker, better than ground hogs: pitchers and catchers report within days!

We need to get the real thing. A blitz from the Programming Board with this kind of a tease shows how lightly we take our lack of quality musical performance on this campus. Until the College spends some of its money to bring up some talent, I will continue to spend my own money providing beer for all at my fraternity.

Monday, February 09, 2004

Wilson, Amanda- You make good points, but you gloss over the real problem with the NYC smoking ban. As a non-smoker, I never really cared about the ban until after it went into effect. Boy was that a mistake. All the bars I hang out at down there used to smell of cigarette smoke. Now, they smell like urine and vomit. It's really nasty.

I sincerely trust that the school will allow Beck to ensure that our room continues to reek of cigarette smoke.

Sunday, February 08, 2004

Boy, do I have a remedy for you: Not one, not two, but THREE new issues of The Dartmouth Review online. Why have they not gone up sooner, you ask? Because we're lazy? Well, yes, but also becau--no, we are lazy.

Issue ONE: TDR's annual Review of Books, featuring the Metrosexual Guide to Style and Laura Ingraham's Shut up and Sing. Also on-campus events like Wright's five-year report, candidates on campus, a Democrat debate, the alumni constitution that failed, and Indian sports.

Issue THREE: Hot off the presses as of two days ago: Why you should hate the BuzzFlood (more than you already do), the truth behind the student-arranged debate, Deaniac for a Day, David Brooks, the SexEd festival, AND Primary Night in Manchester featuring on-site coverage from the HQ of Kucinich, Dean, Kerry, and Robert Haines. As a final bonus, Editor Emeritus J. Lawrence Scholer's Paean to Youth: The Consequences of Conservatism.

We'll keep all the issues on the main page for a few days before tossing the first two in the archives.

Saturday, February 07, 2004

Very shortly, our article and my editorial on the debate fiasco will be online (within half an hour I'd say). But, as a precursor, I just now received a call from someone in the area who had been a "regular worker" in the Clark campaign's office on Main Street (in the old Review office, incidentally). He repeatedly said "That kid [Kabir] is full of shit." Apparently, Kabir was a real nuisance to them, and the anonymous worker would have gladly put me in contact with workers who could confirm this--were they not scattered in Va. and other states.

He commended us on our coverage, but did mention one other oddity: Dartmouth had also done things similar to the BuzzFlood. Namely, lie to candidates about who had committed to the debates.

Friday, February 06, 2004

Alex, I agree with you 100 percent about the smoking ban in NYC. And not just on behalf of the smokers, but also on behalf of the bartenders who are having trouble paying their rent. The smoking ban was done in their name, to protect them from exaggerated health risks. And yet the woman I spoke to over Christmas break could barely afford Christmas presents for her kids, and she blamed the smoking ban for declining business. This is not to mention the business owners who no longer have the right to decide whether or not to allow smoking on their own property.

Sorry, I am bitter about this, too. It's just ridiculous that New York City wastes its time worrying about things like "possession of ashtrays" when there are real problems to focus on.

Obviously I take this issue pretty personally. I'm still bitter about the NYC smoking ban for one thing. I'm still bitter about Dartmouth putting me in a room freshman year with a kid allergic to cigarette smoke despite my specifically requesting a smoking room for another. And even though I'm now theoretically a non-smoker, I'm still pissed about those little glass cubicles they make smokers stand in at the airport, like we're zoo animals for little kids to point at. Smokers aren't animals damn it! They're human beings, just like you!

The College is going to ban smoking in every dorm? Set aside the absurdity of telling all campus smokers they can't practice their habit even in their own rooms, for which they are grossly overcharged. Set aside that the College is making every effort to curb off-campus living, which would allow smokers to opt-out of this rule. Set aside that there's basically no chance this can be enforced, and even less chance all smokers are going to obey it voluntarily. And set aside that if there's anyplace it's cruel and unusual to make people smoke outside, it's Dartmouth. Let's just focus on one question:

Why is the issue banning smoking everywhere? Why not create a smoking dorm or two and let students opt in to such a dorm rather than opt for "smoke-free" housing if they want it. It's a bit ridiculous the default is a smoking dorm when the majority of dorms aren't.

Moreover, every other frickin group on campus can gets it's own affinity housing - trust me, smokers have more of an affinity for one another than just about anyone. And as for the advantages to the campus as a whole:

a) Can't we all admit that this would be the biggest party dorm ever? I know, I know, smoking isn't cool - I get that. But smokers have the highest cool/non-cool ratio of any basic demographic group. That's how the rumor about smoking being cool got started in the first place. And especially these days, I suspect Dartmouth needs a big party dorm. It might even keep the freshman from going to frats and dropping the dime on them every weekend.

b) You want diversity? You want interaction between people of different sociocultural backgrounds? Then put all the smokers together my friend, because smoking transcends race, culture, religion, and basically everything else in America today. Smokers know they're the most despised minority in this country, and so everything else doesn't really matter.

And once the smokers all come to know and appreciate each other, they can spread the gospel of tolerance and understanding at all the parties they'll be having in their dorm.

Men's hockey hosts Cornell and Colgate in a huge weekend series this Friday and Saturday respectively. Puck drops at 7 PM both nights. I encourage all students to arrive early and en masse. And be as loud and obnoxious as possible, especially Friday night. I do not want to be outcheered by the Cornell fans if at all possible.

Women's hockey, ranked #1 in the country, is at #2 Minnesota this weekend. Gametime is 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Audio broadcasts can be heard online at Gophersports.com

Women's basketball hosts Princeton and Penn at Leede Arena on Friday and Saturday. Likewise Men's basketball is on the road at Princeton and Penn each night.

Why don't you just have people slip issues under people's doors when possible?

First, you come back with more stories. I remember once this guy opened his door, threw threw the issue out, and claimed I was commiting a crime by being racist, so I told him he was commiting a crime by littering (which is dubious considering what I was doing, yes, but less so than his claim), he slammed his door and began singing Islamic praise music or something.

Just read the couple articles in the D today about the planned (and cancelled) Buzzflood Democratic debate. Beyond the fact that they hired donkeys to "greet" students and that they wanted everyone to wear green, what really proves how inept and stupid these people are is the fact that they invited Lyndon LaRouche to the debate. I, for one, would have loved to see LaRouche up there with all the candidates, just for the comedy value. I'm guessing though that their goals for the event did not include making it funny. Do they realize how having a candidate like that there would totally undermine the whole affair, or are they just that stupid? Actually, they probably are that stupid, given their track record.

Tuesday, February 03, 2004

Once again, The Center for Women and Gender will hold a Sex Festival in Collis Common Ground!

Last year over 1,000 people came to the festival and many told us that it was the most wonderfully educational and comfortable environment to learn more about sex and sexuality that they had ever experienced.
By all accounts it was a terrific event.

We would like to invite you to join us!!!
Student groups and organizations may request a booth so as to participate. Preference will be given to those that are interactive, engaging, fun, provocative and have the goal of expanding awareness and understanding around issues of sex and sexuality, including abstinence.

The Sex Festival will take place on Tuesday, February 10 from 5-8pm and you will need to allow at least an hour for set up and break down of your booth. Some financial assistance may be available, but your org. is responsible for the costs associated with the running of your booth.

Please send your ideas as soon as possible to me and we can set up a time to talk more.

We've recently decided that the need has arisen at Dartmouth for a student-run dating service.

Who we are:
Two single '04 women who understand Dartmouth's dating difficulties

How it works:
Fill out the brief questionairre below and blitz it back to us. We will assign you a number so that your identity remains anonymous. Profiles will be compiled in a mass blitz every Friday and sent to all participants. Select the numbers of profiles you find intriguing and blitz those back to us. If that person has also chosen you, we will alert both of you as to each other's names for a possible match.